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US Ready to Offer Israel Support after Attacks, Says Biden

07 October 2023, Israel, Ashkelon: Members of the fire brigade try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from Gaza. (dpa)
07 October 2023, Israel, Ashkelon: Members of the fire brigade try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from Gaza. (dpa)
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US Ready to Offer Israel Support after Attacks, Says Biden

07 October 2023, Israel, Ashkelon: Members of the fire brigade try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from Gaza. (dpa)
07 October 2023, Israel, Ashkelon: Members of the fire brigade try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from Gaza. (dpa)

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States was ready to offer "all appropriate means of support " after Palestinian movement Hamas launched an attack on Israel.

"I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel," Biden said in a statement after he spoke with Netanyahu.

"Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation," he added.  

Earlier, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said the US "unequivocally condemns" attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians and firmly stands with the government and people of Israel, CNN reported on Saturday.  

Citing a statement from the spokesperson, CNN reported that White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, and would remain in close contact.  

Britain "unequivocally condemns" a surprise attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.    

"The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself," Cleverly said in a post on social media.    

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was shocked by the attacks.    

"We're in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice," Sunak added.    

French President Emmanuel Macron said he strongly condemned the attacks.   

"I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks which are currently hitting Israel. I express my full solidarity with the victims, and their families and those close to them," Macron wrote on X.    

The French foreign ministry said earlier that Paris condemned the "terrorist attacks under way against Israel and its population" and that it expressed its full solidarity with Israel.   

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she strongly condemned the attacks, saying violence against innocent people must stop straight away.    

"I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against Israel from Gaza. Violence and rockets against innocent civilians must stop now. We stand in full solidarity with Israel and its right under international law to defend itself against terror," Baerbock said on X.   

Ukraine's foreign ministry condemned what it described as "ongoing terrorist attacks" on Israel.  

"Ukraine strongly condemns the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket attacks against the civilian population in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv," the ministry said on X.  

"We express our support for Israel in its right to defend itself and its people."  

Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday, killing dozens of people and taking hostages in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into Israel with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.  

Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza, and Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.  

"Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known," he said. "We are in a war and we will win it".

Israel's N12 News reported that at least 100 Israelis were killed. A Reuters photographer saw multiple bodies lying in streets of the southern town of Sderot.

Gaza health officials said 198 Palestinians had been killed in air strikes as bombardments hit deep into Gaza City, sending clouds of black smoke spiraling into the sky.

Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.   

"This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth," he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.   

The last major flare-up between Israel and Hamas was a 10-day war in 2021.

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Arab World

The Economy in the Occupied West Bank Is Being Dismantled by Israel, Report Says

Palestinian farm workers harvest grape vines at the Samer Hamdan vineyards in the village of Beit Hasan on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley, east of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 13, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian farm workers harvest grape vines at the Samer Hamdan vineyards in the village of Beit Hasan on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley, east of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 13, 2026. (AFP)
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The Economy in the Occupied West Bank Is Being Dismantled by Israel, Report Says

Palestinian farm workers harvest grape vines at the Samer Hamdan vineyards in the village of Beit Hasan on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley, east of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 13, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian farm workers harvest grape vines at the Samer Hamdan vineyards in the village of Beit Hasan on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley, east of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 13, 2026. (AFP)

The economy in the West Bank is teetering toward collapse as Israel maintains a web of restrictions that limit opportunities for Palestinians living under long-term military occupation, according to a new report from a leading conflict tracker.

The International Crisis Group says that Israeli measures restricting movement, withholding revenue and taking land are not only crippling the Palestinian economy but also fueling deep instability.

“The economic conditions necessary for any Palestinian future other than permanent subjugation are being dismantled,” it says.

The report, based on interviews with Palestinian business leaders, mayors and government officials, details the financial crisis afflicting companies, households and the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, which administers cities and towns in the West Bank.

It says Israeli policies suggest a concerted effort to “advance Israel’s own declared goal of extending its control and preventing a Palestinian state from emerging.”

Throughout decades of military occupation, the Palestinian economy has been hobbled by checkpoints and military gates that curtail movement of people and goods.

Households and businesses have relied heavily on jobs and imports tied to Israel, and faced restrictions on land and trade.

The roughly 3.4 million Palestinians living in the West Bank today face roughly 30% unemployment and have seen their economy contract substantially since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Israel revoked work permits for most of the nearly 200,000 Palestinians who had worked there previously. Officials cited security but in effect, it deprived the Palestinian economy of nearly $400 million a month, or almost one-fourth of its overall economic output.

Many businesses today are struggling to pay workers, contractors and suppliers, with private companies seeing an estimated 50% decline in business since before the war, “reflecting tightened movement controls, disrupted supply chains and heightened uncertainty,” the report says.

“Palestinian society survives, but in a state of grinding immiseration. Absent remedies, the result will likely be a loss of hope and a growing risk of instability and greater violence,” it says.

As the occupied West Bank's largest employer and service provider, the Palestinian Authority is at the heart of the crisis. Government agencies have borrowed heavily to stay afloat as public sector workers go unpaid and infrastructure like roads and water lines crumble. The inability to fund public services is keeping patients out of hospitals and kids out of school.

Most of the PA's money comes from taxes collected on goods entering the West Bank through Israeli ports, because Palestinians do not control their own borders. But under hard-line ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Israel has withheld billions of dollars in owed tax revenue and unilaterally imposed deductions on the funds. No transfers have been made since May 2025.

Joost Hiltermann, International Crisis Group’s special adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, said the world’s focus on more than two years of war in Gaza had drawn attention away from the West Bank, but that changes taking place now could have arguably wider consequences for Palestinians’ future aspirations.

Hiltermann, who wrote the report, said Israeli officials, who exert considerable control over many of the policies in question, did not agree to be interviewed. But he noted disagreements within Netanyahu’s government, with settler leaders and security officials often clashing on how to manage the Palestinian economy.

“The security establishment doesn’t want the Palestinian Authority or economy to collapse because they would have to assume the burden of governing the territory in full after essentially destroying it,” he said.

Arab World

Minister Says Israel Won’t Withdraw from Occupied Land in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza

A car loaded with belongings drives past a destroyed building in Nabatieh on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
A car loaded with belongings drives past a destroyed building in Nabatieh on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Minister Says Israel Won’t Withdraw from Occupied Land in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza

A car loaded with belongings drives past a destroyed building in Nabatieh on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
A car loaded with belongings drives past a destroyed building in Nabatieh on June 15, 2026. (AFP)

Israel’s defense minister said Monday that Israel won’t withdraw from land occupied in Lebanon as the interim deal between Iran and the United States is pending. 

Israel Katz’s remarks were the first official Israeli comments after the announcement of the interim deal. The two sides plan to meet Friday in Geneva to sign it, Pakistan has said. 

Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip.  

Iran has tied the interim deal over the war to halting Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with “great force.” 

Over the past two and a half years, Israel has taken control of areas in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria amounting to 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of territory — an area that is slightly smaller than New York City. 

Meanwhile, Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, denounced the deal between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon, insisting his country was not bound by it.

US President Donald "Trump's agreement does not bind us... we are not party to this agreement. It does not safeguard our security," Ben-Gvir said on his Telegram channel.

"We must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from a single inch of territory that our soldiers have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure," he said.

US and Iranian officials said they had reached an agreement to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a preliminary pact that sent oil prices falling but leaves the fate of Tehran's nuclear program to further negotiations.

While still a framework, the deal marked the biggest breakthrough towards resolving the conflict that has killed thousands and upended energy markets since it began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The precise terms of the deal were not immediately known. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X that the pact called for "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."

Lebanon has been a sticking point in negotiations, with Israel and Hezbollah ignoring calls from Trump and others to stop their attacks on each other in recent weeks.

Arab World

At Chad-Sudan Border, Aid Funding Crisis Leaves Displaced in Limbo

TOPSHOT - A general view of carts heading towards Chad at the Adré border post on June 8, 2026. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A general view of carts heading towards Chad at the Adré border post on June 8, 2026. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
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At Chad-Sudan Border, Aid Funding Crisis Leaves Displaced in Limbo

TOPSHOT - A general view of carts heading towards Chad at the Adré border post on June 8, 2026. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
TOPSHOT - A general view of carts heading towards Chad at the Adré border post on June 8, 2026. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)

Rising numbers of Chadians fleeing the Sudan war are arriving at the Adre border post in Chad, but funding shortages could force UN agencies on the ground to stop operating.

The civil conflict in Sudan has already cost tens of thousands of lives and forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes, more than a million of them Chadian, according to UN figures.

Government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting since April 2023.

A steady stream of horse-carts arrived at the Adre border post, under the region's scorching desert sun, during a recent visit by AFP.

In the swirling dust and the crack of whips, some of the makeshift wagons toppled under the weight of their loads, dragging the horses onto their backs, hooves in the air.

They leave loaded with cans of petrol and food for Sudan, and return to Chad, in some cases carrying people fleeing the war.

- Lack of resources -

Last week SungAh Lee, deputy director general of the UN's International Organization for Migration, visited Adre as part of a three-day visit to the Assoungha region.

She met Chadians who had been in Sudan and had fled the war to return home.

"When I go there and meet the beneficiaries and hear from them, then go back and meet ambassadors and the donor community, it is important for them to hear what I have seen in person," she told AFP.

In May, the number of Chadians returning from Sudan passed the 400,000 mark.

They had initially expected to reach that level by the end of June, Lee said, but the flow of returnees has accelerated.

Mahamat Issa Abakar, general secretary of the Assoungha region, confirmed the surge in returnees.

"There are more than 5,000 Chadians getting ready to return to Chad from Sudan in the coming days," said Abakar, himself a former aid worker.

"Their representatives came to ask me how they will be taken in here, but I don't know what to tell them," he added. "On our side, we lack the resources."

"The Chadians from Sudan returning to Chad have exactly the same needs as the refugees," he added.

And yet, he said, looking over at the IOM delegation, they were not as well cared for.

- No food, no work -

According to figures from the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 900,000 people have sought refuge in Chad since the start of the war in Sudan. They make up one in three people in the eastern provinces of Chad.

In Tongori camp, where the IOM says 13,000 people are packed in, Chadians who have fled Sudan speak of a sense of abandonment.

"We don't have food!" said 59-year-old Ahmat Mahamat Hassan. "It hasn't been handed out for six months."

"It's the IOM who led us here and it's for you to take responsibility for us," he added, addressing the UN delegation set up under sheets of metal in the middle of some 300 Chadian returnees.

Others among the returnees complained of a lack of work and being stuck in the camp with nothing to do.

"We have a lot of skills here among the women, but we can't put them into practice," said Saide Yaya Abderamanou.

"Most of us have a job in Sudan. Some of us make jewels, perfumes, shoes," she added.

Lee, for the IOM, acknowledged the problem.

"Continuously providing humanitarian aid is not a sustainable model," she told AFP.

"They all want to work, they all have skills. So it's about creating opportunities for them, and I think this is really the most difficult part."

But she also recognized the growing difficulties in helping the Chadians returning from Sudan.

The $21-million IOM response plan for eastern Chad in 2026 was only 19-percent financed, Lee said.

"After October 2026, we won't be able to provide humanitarian assistance if the finance doesn't arrive," she warned.